Raleigh Durham reports traffic upturn

Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) recorded a 5% rise in passenger traffic during November.

Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) recorded a 5% rise in passenger traffic during November.

Throughout the month, 785,084 passengers passed through the airport compared to 742,696 last November.

The growth reflects the addition of 15 flights to RDU’s schedule. At the beginning of November, Delta Airlines launched 14 daily flights to five cities, while JetBlue began an additional flight to Boston.

The increase follows months of decline in flights and seat availability as airlines decreased their schedules in response to high fuel costs and the economic downturn.

“The growth in passengers underlines what we have noted for some time,” says RDU’s director of marketing, Teresa Damiano. “Our market’s mix of business and leisure travellers can and will support additional air service.”

The number of seats available increased 8% compared to the same period last year.

So far this year, 8.34 million people have traveled through RDU compared to 8.22 million in the first 11 months of 2009.

The amount of cargo shipped out of RDU grew by 5.3% compared to the same month last year, while the amount of cargo shipped into RDU grew by 10.1%